Severe flooding hit the Yangtze river basin in China this week. Heavy rainfall ranging from 100 to 500mm in some areas fell across seven provinces, the storms stretching 1,000 miles. More than 180 people were reported killed by the flooding, dozens were missing and, overall, 33 million people were affected. Twenty three people were killed by a single mudslide in Guizhou province.
India and Pakistan also suffered damaging floods over the weekend, and more than 60 people died. The floods hit during Ramadan prayers; a busy mosque was washed away and 70 houses were destroyed or severely damaged in the Pakistan province of Chitral. There were fears of further monsoon rains to come.
Meanwhile, the Australian city of Adelaide had its wettest day in 75 years on Monday, with more than 50mm recorded in 24 hours in some suburbs. The emergency services dealt with hundreds of callouts for flooding issues, while wind gusts in excess of 60mph knocked out power supplies to 2,000 homes, thanks to fallen trees. Nearby Mount Lofty even had a rare, brief, dusting of snow.
Finally, holidaymakers in Spain may have found the summer weather a little too intense in recent days, as extreme heat sent the mercury soaring. Heat warnings were issued for much of the country, with many areas exceeding 40C. Hottest of all was Cordoba, in the province of Andalusia, where a high of 44.5C was measured on Sunday – about 8C above normal. In Madrid afternoon temperatures have topped 33C every day since 20 June.
